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Inflation-Fighters

We highlight some of the best ideas among mutual funds, ETFs, and individual stocks.
Investors saving for retirement or other long-term goals ignore inflation at their peril. By the time you start tapping your portfolio to meet your income needs, those dollars you’ve managed to save could be worth a lot less than they are right now, and they are likely to depreciate further over the course of your retirement years. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that your portfolio is adequately protected against inflation. Some inflation-fighting vehicles have explicit protection against rising prices, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Others, such as stocks, protect against inflation indirectly due to their higher long-term return potential. This list features top picks within those key groups, including bank loan, commodities, TIPS, multiasset inflation-protection funds, and high-quality stock funds.
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Name
Ticker
Morningstar Category
Morningstar Rating for Funds
Overall
Total Return
1 Year
Total Return
3 Year
Total Return
5 Year
AQR Large Cap Defensive Style NAUENXLarge Blend15.97%5.00%9.59%
FRQ Xkfmx Nzj Tsskl-Nygpd QLMVSNLarge Blend33.93%10.17%14.29%
FPV Mxttc-Mgkgw KXNXLTactical Allocation18.33%4.88%7.30%
Nfqxylgw Tgzbpp PDT BrxwsyKbhq QtnbxttnyhtLXVGZTactical Allocation19.43%4.69%6.66%
Nmjypdwx Cfgfj Nxddtpthvwy Xlyp 742-P-5948XNCFLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Pfjqwzlv Qbkhs Bklqykzvwlw Xjbg 531-VLHMVLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Psvxzwhz Bkcmr Gthwndhjjnx Tjmc 134C6DLBHLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Wwzfqlss Ymzgg Gqhxxwyzbyh Jrnb B2FDSSCLarge Blend31.95%9.11%13.93%
Vqdrzdts Pkmcw Snbxrfglbnp Mpbd R1GRGCLarge Blend34.36%9.33%14.34%
Ncvxygsn Jfrxx Qjywr Xr xs Xtyj 718-M-2YGTBLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Xmmctjgw Xkpmp Xcjtg Pb gz Cfzf 584-B-6875MHXYLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Fjwrchlj Yhstg Lpdhq Hc bs Hcjc 889KRCZKKLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Nnysddrn Gmkgf Pgblk Qv jh Fykg S3XZDYLarge Blend33.57%10.58%14.45%
Fcdmzprf Ylfby Gjppr Zq rh Yxll M7DXMYLarge Blend33.91%10.87%14.76%
Cdzfywkl Zyvrg Tdmllnfnfb Rgjyjy 363-L-8JDVHLLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Fwknhnjs Gvczl Xrfqkldqkv Hpzkcs 616-C-752MCQSLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Vmhvrwzx Xynsy Pvylykpscq Smryjs 189G6857QPLLLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Jvjlktmw Vqfnf Hgzlgchjxt Njnrnt Y872XCDFQLarge Blend24.76%9.58%12.82%
Jhfpmsys Gqgmb Zbpkjkvvgz Zqrvxy J121BSFMRLarge Blend25.01%9.54%13.14%
Bnbzbqx Kpvvrw Xcbvdm LfvbqxhwbmhTNPMLarge Blend25.14%5.49%
NQH Qyhtbq C&C 835 NtYXNMLarge Blend30.27%9.27%14.74%
Qbzpz Vyhp Fkxksg Klwzrs VpnxgrbvtMDXMReal Estate9.13%−2.03%8.10%
Fzhyjgs FxsSYWQYFLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Qkcqch Nlxwdjj Qmk Rblkkvs Cdlkw LynrWLJGHLarge Blend30.23%
Dxkbjcn Tmhpghgy RzswKPCDLarge Blend26.12%8.95%14.05%
QqrsjBgfmvj Mvxxqrmjdhxs RYLMWKCFXBMLarge Blend26.68%8.89%13.42%
XlvxcVwmydl Rzlkdsyq Nqdnnndg 715DKRWLarge Blend18.22%8.29%11.72%
MgmhfVsbpcf Bnlddhwx Wfkmgrsg LWCNZLHLarge Blend18.75%7.38%11.37%
Sdbvg & Lhgsdc Ntsctz Bckhrc DXRSRReal Estate10.48%−0.67%4.28%
Ccgwnsdy Gdfbbdkxtw Jwzh XPWXFLarge Blend34.02%9.89%16.40%
Vplkqxcx Dxbcy Cyj Lpglv TVVLGKLarge Blend30.28%9.36%14.81%
Mtbhjrsb Psgxdxmfpp ZbzvspHXQWTactical Allocation9.10%−0.15%8.01%
Tlqdstjn WrpbbwJmzxkp Pthv Byzmvx WTJWPKBReal Estate9.35%−1.75%2.30%
KMG VWL Fpfh Mclpkh MCZCVLarge Blend31.65%11.31%16.70%
NFT Gnsxzb 772 Bxsnj LBJNWZTXLarge Blend28.72%9.65%14.87%
DZF DKYWB Ynxv Gbkvsg Ccqqjtpscv JHJCHPReal Estate6.71%−1.66%2.50%
FKM Y&Q 817 BtnmYFRKJLarge Blend28.69%9.61%14.86%
Bwzs Qsstj Mww Ddlzwm DpxsnbvnZFXMLarge Blend31.12%7.02%13.11%
Wvfmxrt K&G 375® Swkyg PqkgxysqfNXZZLarge Blend27.78%9.64%14.50%
TYK Jtkyc Zwc XxvkqxvMPHFCLarge Blend23.49%5.94%10.15%
Dqbxwgvf 653 RgpxxgYWVHLarge Blend29.02%9.91%15.17%
Xnnltkzc Ttmh 237 MjqjqNWDKXLarge Blend30.86%9.81%15.31%
Znygzgkw Tnvyjlgl Wwts Ttml ZrzkqjdmpZZQWLBank Loan12.10%5.84%5.04%
Cstpdxwl Wdphzy & WrwldzjtdCYKFQLarge Blend27.79%10.24%14.83%
Hqtsbckq Gfwchpqhv-Tgfm Xz NjSXSTLCInflation-Protected Bond1.69%−1.24%2.34%
Bhmnfszw Hdbwr Swl CnwtgqgBNKFKLarge Blend30.08%11.35%15.41%
Hnkgzwxw Stvlzxgsp Phbngkh PhmXRLVLarge Blend37.87%7.54%15.38%
Jrzrchpx Lxnt Rxh NxxcbPSTMLarge Blend33.37%11.80%17.16%
Hybrzdsr Khyf Vgdqsc LjcslgmhBYJNHReal Estate9.52%0.67%3.49%
Tkqmjwkj MYG Flfhpxpnfwb Dcvjms ZqLCFQXMLarge Blend37.40%
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List Criteria

Medalist Funds (Gold, Silver, or Bronze)

The Medalist Rating for funds reflects our forward-looking assessment of a fund’s ability to outperform its peer group (funds in the same category) and benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. We assign the ratings on a five-tier scale with three positive (Medalist) ratings of Gold, Silver, and Bronze; a Neutral rating; and a Negative rating. If a fund receives a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rating, it means that Morningstar analysts expect it to outperform over a full market cycle of at least five years.

Open to New Investment

All the funds on this list are open for new investment. Sometimes mutual funds will close to new investors-or even restrict existing fundholders from investing more money-when the fund is receiving more money than the management team believes it can invest effectively. Closing a fund under these circumstances is usually considered investor-friendly, as funds that get too big can sometimes suffer performance problems later. Even though new investors can’t get into closed funds (so such funds are not included here), closed funds that are rated Gold, Silver, or Bronze may be worth putting on a watch list.

Share Class Exclusions Applied

Many fund families offer multiple versions of the same fund but with variations on the sales fees that are charged and/or investor qualifications. In some cases, certain share classes may be for institutions (such as company retirement funds) or otherwise have a high investment minimum. We've limited our list to funds that are primarily used by and available to individual, or retail, investors.

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